Category: Uncategorized

Attitude Is Everything An individual’s motivation is so important when we are discussing ‘return to work’, yet in the claims management process we do not assess, measure, or quantify this factor! Typically, when we look at the claims data used to build predictive models, it’s really rather thin. The systems we use in claims management were designed […]

Every day we encounter all sorts of people, all sorts of dispositions. Some are calm, cool, and collected, and take things in their stride. Others are strung tight, reacting – and maybe over-reacting – to even small problems. Some we love to see coming, and we go out of our way to make time for […]

New and innovative advances in the medical field are always exciting, but I am particularly keen on any research that combats a diagnosis using a remedy that is very accessible to many. So when I heard NPR discussing the latest findings from the American College of Physicians on the impact of yoga on back pain, my […]

From the perspective of analysis of claim data, it helps to consider STD and LTD as one process, rather than just focus on LTD only, where the big reserves are. We need to ensure that we are not missing an opportunity to get an individual back to work as soon as possible, before ‘not working’ […]

Disability Awareness Month – Carol Harnett You go to the gym a few times per week. You eat a well balanced diet that’s even included kale in the past week. That’s why you’re more likely to be thinking about investing in a personal trainer than buying disability insurance. After all, there’s virtually no chance you’ll […]

In our last newsletter, we described how Extended Duration Claims follow the 80-20 rule; 80% of the claim reserves are stable with predictable results, and the other 20% of reserves are where opportunity lies. The problem is finding a way to identify the 20%. If you have a large number of claims in this category, it […]

White, middle class adults are killing themselves deliberately and inadvertently, quickly and slowly. How bad is a life without work? I have been asked this question a lot lately. It is becoming pretty clear that the forces of globalisation and technological progress are reshaping economies and societies, especially in advanced economies, and that these effects […]

I’m a geek. I like numbers, models, and the big picture. Like a moth to a flame, I find big data both enticing and terrifying. When it comes to outlining clinical best practices, I want to understand the available evidence. But really, why would a disability and workers compensation medical director care about predictive modeling? […]

As I go around the industry, meeting many talented and experienced people who are involved in managing disability claims operations discussing the introduction of claim segmentation, the biggest issue is the ‘change’ in the process. How to do this without causing an issue? The rational for claim segmentation is clear, as soon as we suspect that an STD […]

The Mental Health Cognitive Kitchen – Recipes for a better understanding of Mental Health conditions. The Ingredients of the Diagnosis How do we determine if someone has a medical condition?  We use tests such as MRIs and X-rays. From those tests medical conditions can be discerned and then treated appropriately. With a mental health condition there […]